hunger

This week we’re talking to Oregonians across the state who struggle with hunger. Yesterday we checked in with Tyra Lynn. We interviewed her more than a decade ago about her experience with food stamps, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. Today, we spend time with Lynn and her sister Constance Lee, who has a different take on accepting SNAP.

Tyra Lynn is rolling pie dough in her sister’s home in Mountain Home, Idaho.

Lynn: We’re going to need more flour. I’ve got barely enough flour and I’ve only made one pie crust.

In 2000 Oregon had the highest rate of hunger in the nation. Around that time, OPB’s Rob Manning spoke with Portlander Tyra Lynn, who struggled to feed her family and relied on food stamps. This fall, OPB found Lynn. We wanted to know whether her situation changed more than a decade later.

Life was hard for Tyra Lynn twelve years ago. Her husband had just lost his job, and the then 27-year-old mother of three had a hard time making ends meet.

Nearly 15 years ago, Oregon had the highest rate of hunger in the nation. The state changed a number of policies to try to help. But the percentage of people facing hunger today is nearly as high as it was in 2000. In this series, we talk to Oregonians who struggle to put food on the table, and look at programs that provide support. Amanda Peacher reports on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

Beginning Friday, more than 800,000 Oregonians receiving SNAP, or food benefits, will see a reduction in their monthly stipend. The change is the result of an expiring federal stimulus program put in place during the recession.

How much food can you buy with ten dollars? A loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, a bag of carrots, a couple apples, maybe some off-brand pretzels… not much more. But it enough to provide a person a meal a day for about a week.